Gardening is good for your health, say bloom lovers

RESEARCH published yesterday revealed that 93% of people agree that gardening is good for their health.

The results were released to highlight Pfizer’s free health screening at Bloom, the Bord Bia-organised gardening festival, which runs from today until Monday at the Phoenix Park, Dublin.

Bloom attracted 50,000 visitors last year. It will show how caring for plants can improve the quality of life for people of all ages.

The research found almost twice as many of those surveyed garden rather than play team sports or go to the gym, with the majority of gardeners in the 50+ age category.

While many agree that gardening is good for their health, over one fifth of men consider it a chore compared to 14% of women. But 11% regard gardening as one of their “favourite things to do”.

Bloom has more than 30 show gardens from Ireland’s top horticultural talent. Bord Bia chief executive Aidan Cotter said the response to Bloom “proved that we have both the design talent and the demand among the Irish public for an outstanding event of scale and quality.”

bloominthepark.com